Oracle v. Google Java copyright battle enters final round

Oracle has filed an argument brief with the Supreme Court in advance of the March 24 court date

Oracle’s nearly decade-old lawsuit against Google over Google’s use of Java is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. Oracle argues in a brief filed with the court that Google violated Oracle’s intellectual property rights by using Java APIs in Google’s Android operating system.

Although Google implemented its own version of Java for Android, it used the same names and functionality as the Java programming interfaces. Oracle claims that violates its patents and copyrights related to Java.

“While Google would prefer to live in a world unencumbered by intellectual property rights, in the real world, copyrights are an essential protection and incentive for innovation,” said Dorian Daley, Oracle executive vice president and general counsel.

Oracle accuses Google of “clear-cut infringement” and “plagiarism.” Google was falling behind in the smartphone market and could have licensed the software code or written its own code, Oracle said.

In response, Google on Thursday argued for “open” software interfaces. “Oracle’s position would undermine the practices that have helped developers build on existing technology and create new products. That’s why developers and businesses from across the tech industry have supported open software interfaces and opposed attempts to monopolize the creation of new applications,” Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said in a statement.

Oracle filed the lawsuit in 2010, not long after the company acquired Java creator Sun Microsystems. The case has gone back and forth from lower to appellate courts, with Google winning the first round and Oracle succeeding on appeal. The case irked software developers from the beginning.